Without looking it upwards, who would y'all guess is the biggest creative person on YouTube in the United states of america right now?

Is it Ariana Grande? She's been putting up huge numbers since releasing a record-breaking video for "thank u, next" in tardily 2018. Peradventure Kodak Blackness? He's always performed well on YouTube and he'south still riding a moving ridge after dropping the video for "ZEZE" featuring Offset and Travis Scott. Or is it Bad Bunny? Drake? Ed Sheeran? Future? XXXTentacion? Taylor Swift? Nope.

No artist is having more success on YouTube correct now than YoungBoy Never Broke Once again. Currently sitting at No. 1 on the YouTube Music chart, he is the most-watched musician across all genres. And he's been able to do it without the bells and whistles of expensive videos, cheap viral tricks, or big-upkeep music rollouts. Every bit far equally musicians go, he's established himself every bit the king of YouTube.

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Prototype via YouTube

YoungBoy Never Broke Again has been on YouTube's Top Artists list in the United States for the past 101 weeks, and he's been No. i for the concluding xix. This week, he sits atop the listing with 54.6 million views, above Kodak Black (forty.2), Mail Malone (39.9), XXXTentacion (35.2), and Lil Babe (32.four). His overall numbers are staggering. YoungBoy has netted over 4.one million subscribers since the beginning of 2017. He has managed to average over 8 meg global views per mean solar day over the past month.

"I call back in the world of fake rappers and sh*t, people can JUST feel his authenticity." - Louie Knows

The Billy Rouge rapper is just nineteen years quondam, merely his ascension has been in motion for years. He released four mixtapes (Life Before Fame, Mind of a Menace, Listen of a Menace 2, and Before I Go) earlier a major breakout moment came with 2017's 38 Infant, which featured Boosie Badazz and Kevin Gates. Since then, he's released eight solo mixtapes, ii collaborative projects, and three EPs. In 2017, his efforts were rewarded when he signed a rumored $ii million, 5-album bargain with Atlantic Records, and dropped his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name, terminal Apr.

YoungBoy'southward ascension hasn't been without controversy. He spent time in jail for attempted first degree murder charges in 2017 and was indicted for charges of aggravated assault and kidnapping in early 2018 afterward footage surfaced of the rapper allegedly assaulting his girlfriend Jania Jackson. His legal bug accept slowed coverage from some media outlets and potential corporate sponsors, only they've done nothing to limit his rise on YouTube.


YoungBoy's music performs the all-time in Dallas, Texas (x.9 million views per month); Atlanta, Georgia (9.64 million views per month); and Houston, Texas (9.22 1000000 views per month). The majority of his YouTube traffic comes from the U.s.a.: He ranks considerably lower on the global artists nautical chart at No. 54. The Baton Rouge rapper does well on Spotify, too, just the numbers pale in comparison to his YouTube operation (he ranks 494th in the world in global Spotify streams).

So, why does his music translate and then well to YouTube? Whatever vlogger volition tell you the hole-and-corner to success on YouTube is consistency, and YoungBoy follows this formula besides. Over the last ii months, he has uploaded to YouTube 18 times, and often makes a habit of releasing music on the video platform before it arrives on any other service.

His visuals are simple. There are guns and depictions of street life, merely no fancy camera piece of work or any other forms of glitz and glamour. In comparison, an creative person like Ariana Grande has had her YouTube channel for 11 years, but has uploaded less than 25 music videos in total. Each of Grande's videos average more views than YoungBoy gets on a per-upload basis, only his consistency is translating to more overall impressions (and a friendly human relationship with YouTube's algorithms).

Louie Knows is i of YoungBoy's go-to video directors, responsible for contempo visuals like "Valuable Pain" and "I Came Thru." He says there wasn't a conscious plan to focus on consistently uploading simplistic videos: This is just what makes YoungBoy YoungBoy. "It's what makes him pop on YouTube because the fans desire to encounter him and how he opens up," Louie says of the raw style. "They want to see this in action because it helps them paint a picture of who he really is through watching him in these videos." Discussing YoungBoy's lack of a master plan to YouTube success, Louie adds, "Honestly, his strategy is whatever he feels is right in his centre."

Louie points to this, every bit well as the simplicity of the visual, as the differences between YoungBoy and an creative person like Ariana Grande. "Respectfully, she has probably never been on a low upkeep set up," he says. "When it comes to YoungBoy, he comes from the streets, the bottom. They are looking for his personality and that rare moment when he opens himself up and allows himself to perform freely. Because of this, his videos rack up millions of views off of little to no budget." Louie adds, "People like his no-filter, 'I don't give a fuck' attitude. This might sound crazy, but the way that he acts often reminds me of 2Pac. I recall in the world of fake rappers and shit, people can merely feel his actuality."

In 2019, SoundCloud has lost its place as the go-to platform for rising artists, and YouTube is filling that need. Equally competing streaming services roll out pricey subscription plans, YouTube remains gratis. In turn, information technology has the largest base of users, and its content reaches listeners who don't have access to premium subscription services. Intentionally or non, YoungBoy has struck a chord with fans who go to the service in search of a raw style—and he's connecting with a massive audience.